NORTH SYRACUSE -- Updated at 5:05pm Friday, February 18th:
If you have a Fresno's gift certificate left over, don't worry. There's a way to use it.
Tully's is now accepting any unspent Fresno's gift certificates at full value. The two restaurants are not affiliated, but the owners say they are long time friends.
Tully's released a statement saying, "We're happy to honor these unspent gift certificates and hope that those customers will make Tully's their new home. In this economy, we hate to see hard earned money wasted. We'd rather give them what they paid for, a great meal in a fun, family atmosphere."
Fresno's Southwest Restaurant and Bar closed permanently last week. The closure came after the Onondaga County Health Department forced it to shut down for seven days because of a history of health violations.
Updated at 3:35 pm Thursday:
A North Syracuse restaurant will stay closed for good after it was temporarily shut down by the Onondaga County Health Department for violations.
Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Morrow confirms Fresno's Southwest Restaurant and Bar will not reopen. Officials from her department tried to do another inspection today, but the building was locked up and no one was there. Morrow says the operators of Fresno's, Galco Management, told the health department the restaurant is permanently closed.
The restaurant was shut down by the Health Department for seven days on February 3rd. Fresno's was also fined $2,000, and managers were given 30 days to complete a food sanitation course.
Morrow says none of the health code violations were egregious and there was no imminent threat to public health. However, the restaurant has a history of violations dating back to 2006. Click here to download and read inspection reports from the County Health Department.
Galco Management also owned Colorado Mine Co. Steakhouse in Salina, which was foreclosed upon last fall.
Posted February 4th:
The Onondaga County Health Department confirms that it has ordered a seven day shutdown of the Fresno's Southwest Restaurant on Route 11 in North Syracuse.
According to Kevin Zimmerman, County Director of Environmental Health, the shutdown is the result of "a pattern of violations over the last several years." He says there is no one violation in particular that resulted in the shutdown, but rather a consistent "failure to meet expectations."
A sign on the door says it's closed for remodeling, and next to it is posted a notice from the Onondaga County Health Department.
The notice says the restaurant is "declared unfit for use or occupancy." It goes on to say, "To the owner, agent or occupant, by the authority vested in me as the Commissioner of Health, I hereby notify you that these premises are in violation of the NYS Sanitary Code & The Onondaga County Sanitary Code."
The notice is dated February 4th and is signed by Onondaga County Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Morrow.
Reached by phone, Commissioner Morrow said inspectors found nothing "egregious" that would present an "imminent danger to public health. Morrow adds however that there was a "pattern of behavior where there's been a consistent lack of compliance" over the last four years.
Morrow says the restaurant has also been fined $2,000. The Commissioner says before Fresno's will be allowed to re-open, it will have to pass another health inspection.
Messages to Galco Management, which oversees Fresno's, have not been returned. The Colorado Mining Company steakhouse in Salina, which was also managed by Galco, was foreclosed upon last fall.
The Fresno's website appears to have been taken offline and redirects to a data hosting service.
Click here to download and read inspection reports from the County Health Department.
